944: Let's get into this. Your collaboration with Damian Marley, Distant Relatives, is coming out next month, right? I know it's a nod to Africa, but do you want to tell folks how the idea for the LP actually came about?
Nas: It was the music, man. It was the music.
944: You guys first collaborated on the Welcome to Jamrock’s “Road to Zion.” Is that what inspired you to do a whole LP?
Nas: Yeah, yeah. It started as an EP and then we just didn't stop recording.
944: How long were you in the studio altogether?
Nas: We started last year. So it’d be off and on.
944: Whenever you had some time?
Nas: Yeah.
944: You did some “Rock The Bells” shows last summer, right? Are you going to take this back out on tour?
Nas: Definitely. Last year was like warm-up. We got to headline “Rock The Bells” and it was like a complete warm-up with just feeling out, testing some of the songs. Not even tested, just did a few new tracks. So we were just getting ready.
944: That's great. What do you think are the advantages of teaming up with somebody that is out of the hip hop realm?
Nas: It's all kinds, because they bring you into a world that you aren't too familiar with, and they weren't too familiar with you now. It's cool to meet new audiences and people, for both. There are big fans of his and big fans of mine. They are distant relatives too. They were already kind of knowing who we are and knowing what we do, so now we are just getting ourselves reintroduced. It's not so much of me going to his fans or him coming to mine. It's creating a new audience for us altogether.
944: That's cool. This is the first time you've collaborated for a whole LP, right? Do you see yourself doing this in the future with some other kind of people? Was the experience good?
Nas: If it feels right, 100%. Yeah.
944: It really is setting a new pace with things. It's not reggae, it's not hip hop. Like you said in another interview, “It's all new music.”
Nas: Right, absolutely. There was this African music in there, and it just provokes us to talk about things that have to deal with Africa. When you think of the world and natural disasters, Haiti, and Venezuela or India, or wherever, you think about what we're up against – who knows what the future holds? All the people and their small differences, over color of whatever or politics or Democrats, Republicans, the Tea Party crazy people… I'm starting to realize there's something greater than our small time differences. They fucking created that to bring us together. Some of it starts with just realizing where we're all from. If you don't like this person or that person. Check it out. Everywhere as far as we know, it started in Africa and we're all one family. So that was just a perfect theme for this record. We shared the same opinions about a lot of things.
944: You guys did a great job. But there hasn't been any new Nas solo stuff since 2008's record. You have some new stuff coming up?
Nas: Yeah. Defnitely. Right now, I just want to focus on this right here. I'm definitely coming after that. (source)
Also, Nas has schedule a one off show with Goodie Mob on Friday, February 5 in Miami, FL Super Bowl weekend.
For more info:
Nas & Goodie Mob - Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
